About & Sources

🧠 Our Research Methodology

Every FSBO step, state rule, fee, and tax calculation on this site is vetted through a Mixture-of-Experts (MoE) process. Rather than relying on a single AI model's output, we run each topic through a pipeline of independent expert systems, then gate publication on their unanimous agreement against authoritative primary sources.

Primary experts: Grok (xAI, web + X search), Gemini 2.5 Pro (Google Search grounding), Claude Opus (Anthropic web search) — each produces an independent draft and fact-check.

Verification: DeepSeek reviews quantitative claims (tax rates, transfer-tax amounts, effective property-tax percentages, recording fees). Cerebras synthesizes the cross-model consensus.

Publication gate: A claim only ships when all five experts AGREE. Disagreements trigger re-synthesis. Unresolved disputes are flagged, not hidden.

📚 Sources & Citations

State rules, fees, and home-selling guidance are drawn from and cross-checked against:

1. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) — TRID, closing disclosure rules, mortgage guidance
2. U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) — RESPA, fair housing, closing cost guidance
3. IRS Publication 523 — Selling Your Home — capital gains exclusion, tax reporting
4. State Department of Real Estate / Real Estate Commission for every state (all 50 + DC) — licensing, disclosure forms, legal requirements
5. State Department of Revenue / Taxation — transfer tax rates, recording fees, property tax
6. County recorder / register of deeds offices — deed recording requirements, fee schedules
7. National Association of Realtors® Research — market data, existing-home sales, FSBO statistics
8. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac — conforming loan limits, appraisal rules, comparables guidance
9. FDIC — banking and escrow account rules
10. Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) — national home price index, market data
11. State bar associations — attorney-state disclosure requirements, attorney-required closings
12. American Land Title Association (ALTA) — title insurance standards, closing protection
13. Appraisal Foundation / USPAP — appraisal standards
14. Zillow, Redfin, and Realtor.com public research reports (cross-checked against NAR)

Fees, tax rates, and legal requirements change frequently. Always verify with your state's real estate commission, department of revenue, and a licensed attorney before closing.

✍️ Editorial Policy

We update pages when new state rules or federal regulations take effect. We do not accept paid placement in the core FSBO guide. The “Find Professionals” section includes affiliate links to LegalZoom, H&R Block, Bankrate, and Coldwell Banker — disclosed inline. These do not affect our guidance.

Corrections: [email protected]

🏛️ About the Publisher

First Door Key is published by a team of real estate and financial planning professionals as part of the AI Pulled portfolio of MoE-built knowledge bases.

Contact: [email protected]